Ronnie McBrayer

Boxing God, Part 1

From Genesis 32:22 and following, Ronnie speaks about his self-admitted favorite story from the Old Testament: Jacob's Wrestling Match with God. Ronnie says, "Jacob ended up crawling in the mud begging for mercy - but it was not for the purpose of humiliating or harming him. It was for the purpose of remaking him - and setting his life in an entirely new direction...As Dr. James Finley rightly says, 'Transformation is the result of our willingness to open our hearts to the aching...'"

Displaced

"There are seasons in life when you are exactly where you feel you need to be. The stars are aligned. It’s a groove. Then there are times when all is wrong. In such times you can make changes - if you have a little courage. But  sometimes changes can’t be made - not in relation to where you are or what you are doing. You can’t jettison the relationships you have...can’t escape your work...can’t run away to some broader horizon. What then? 
At such times, "build your home; plant your garden. Settle in, not to sour, but to live - and flourish.

Backsliders Bonus: ”Don’t Worry About Tomorrow”

Bobby Rains captured another fun recording from those old boys Ronnie plays music with: The Backsliders. This is a great blues tune - "Don't Worry About Tomorrow."

Life Interrupted

"Your life is a stone thrown into a body of water. The ripples roll causing actions and reactions long after your energy is expended, the moving waters finding shores upon which we will never stand...What ripples are you making? When your existence has been interrupted, and the force of your life has been expended - and it is left to germinate - to expand - to grow or to deplete here - can you leave knowing that you put that force and energy to use in the best of places? I’m not talking about changing the world; about being famous; about being so important that you will be the subject matter taught in history class one day. It’s just not that complicated. It’s about living intentionally - purposefully. It’s about being awake, being aware, that this one life is your opportunity."

A Backsliders Bonus: ”See Me Through”

Bobby Rains, who provides recording and technical assistance for Ronnie's podcast, occasionally snags audio from "The Backsliders," the band Ronnie has fronted for the last decade. Here is one of those audio grabs: "See Me Through." It is a song based on an obscure Van Morrison tune, adjusted and rearranged by The Backsliders.

The Cost of Kindness

A brush with fame...and a revolutionary, simple way of living. These come together in Ronnie's latest talk on practicing kindness.

The Rusty Goat

Ronnie uses this talk to announce a new project that he and Cindy are undertaking: "The Rusty Goat - A Coastal Farm and Retreat." Listen to hear more about this worthy project.

”Floating...Obedient to the Stream”

"Floating...Obedient to the Stream," is line from an early play of William Shakespeare - and it is a prescriptive way to live - as instructed by Jesus in the Gospel of John. He teaches us to "go with the flow" of the living water already within us.

Pay Attention: A Tribute to Frederick Buechner

Ronnie shares words from the late Frederick Buechner who passed way in August of 2022, at the age of 96 years young. 

The Grapes of Wrath

"Dylan. Ward Howe. Steinbeck. They all find their message and metaphor in the ancient Jewish prophets. It is a consistent message, retold a thousand times and in a thousand different ways and places, with each telling ringing as true as the last: Perpetual, systematic injustice and unfairness always ends with destruction. We can be certain that when we champion greed over fairness and equality; when we take the side of power and the powerful and fail to protect the vulnerable and the least of these; when we reward dishonesty and mock integrity; when we would rather destroy what is good and what would help others than to cultivate it and share it, we are trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."